Konoha no Kensei
by Kurogane7
Summary: AU: Naruto had grown up used to the idea that men cannot become ninja. But what would happen if he became the only man in the Kunoichi Nations who could use chakra? And what is his connection to Miyamoto Musashi? Inspired by "The First Male Nin" by Nightmares Around Winter. Naruto/Mass Harem. Dragon Nest/Elsword/Naruto Cross. M for later chapters.
1. The Ronin Artist Naruto

**_A/N: I seriously don't know why I've such a case of the Too Many Ideas Syndrome. But I somehow felt that this idea needed to be released. I also don't know why, but I have a liking for swordsmen and swordswomen, particularly if they specialize in two-handed swords. And besides, what better way to honor my more serious start on Dragon Nest than with a crossover? In any case, do read and review would you kindly?_**

…

{Play: "Afternoon of Konoha" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"}

[Chiba Orphanage, Konohagakure no Sato, 1:30 PM]

It was a bright and sunny day in the village of Konohagakure no Sato. Clear skies with few clouds, a gentle breeze gliding through the trees; all in all, it was a very peaceful picture that was painted given the beautiful day. A good sign, given that the Kyūbi no Yoko had attacked no more than five years ago. Many kunoichi were slain in the battle alone, and it wasn't until the Yondaime Hokage Namikaze Mina came around that the problem was dealt with, and at the expense of her own life and that of her wife Uzumaki Kushina. As a result of this, many orphans were left behind from the disaster, the Chiba Orphanage being one of them "C'mon Naruto-kun! How about another round?" urged a young girl with buns in her hair, carrying a thick branch in her hands, "You were actually doing quite well there, considering that your stick is thicker and heavier than mine!"

The boy she was talking to had spiky blond hair, eyes the color of the sea, and six whisker-marks on his face. In his hands, he carried a thick branch with a wider diameter than hers. The two of them were bruised, and were trying to take up swordplay by themselves. Both the boy and the girl were covered in bruises and were panting; a testament to their victories against each other. Sitting near the two combatants was a girl with shoulder-length black hair done up in a pigtail with cute wide eyes watching over the entire spectacle. "Yeah, well, I want to be able to use a weapon no matter its weight Tenten," answered Naruto between breaths, "and so I want to be able to train to the point where I won't get tired as easily when using a sword."

Tenten simply let out a bit of an amused huff as she looked at Naruto with a smile. "You do realize that boys can't be kunoichi right? And besides, what would a kunoichi want to do with a really heavy sword? It's all about speed!"

What she said was true; only women were able to utilize chakra and so they were a part of the armed forces. Men on the other hand only had the chakra coils, but could not make use of the chakra contained, and it is for that reason that clan heads were required to be married to another kunoichi and utilized a jutsu to temporarily grant one of the women male genitalia to pass on the ability to use chakra. Any boys born of this union were often disowned or turned into servants to continue the family line.

"Whatever!" scoffed Naruto, before his eyes had widened in realization, "Ah! By the way, before we continue, I have a surprise for you and Lin."

{Play: "Kansha" by RSP from "Bleach"}

A look of confusion had suffused on the faces of the two girls as they walked towards their friend. Naruto on the other hand propped his branch against himself before digging through his pockets and then pulling the contents of each out before the two of them in closed fists. Upon turning his palms upward, he opened his hands, revealing a pair of hand-carved wooden netsuke of different designs; the one in front of Tenten was in the form of an adorable little boxwood mouse holding a ball in its mouth, and the other for Lin was flat and boxlike, but had a lotus motif engraved upon its black pine surface.

Lin's already wide eyes had grown to the size of saucers upon seeing this, and the two of them picked up their respective gifts. "Naruto-kun, did you make these?"

A nod was his response to Lin's question, before Naruto pulled out his own netsuke—the subject of this one was of a fox chasing its tail. "Took me a lot of cuts before I got the technique right, but I did it. I hope that these would be good symbols of friendship between the three of us; that, and Happy Birthday Tenten!"

What came next had caused his mind to blank out due to the sudden and quick movement that the two girls utilized. One moment, their hands were had moved to pocket their gifts, and the next they were both sandwiching him between them in a hug while pecking him in the cheek affectionately. "I'll treasure this gift forever Naruto-kun," began Lin, blushing to herself at her own audacity.

"And so will I," added Tenten, grinning innocently at her friend, "now if you're ready, we're going to go for another round!"

Naruto said nothing, but simply got in a ready stance before the two of them resumed their duel.

…

{Play: "Her Most Beautiful Smile" by Asakura Noriyuki from "Rurōni Kenshin"}

[Gates of Konoha, five years later…]

As Sarutobi Hirumi looked upon the boy she watched grow up, she could not help but think to herself that life had treated him well…all things considered of course. Since he was six, she noted that Naruto had started growing to be a fine man to the point that his popularity with women both shinobi and civilian had also grown in proportion to his physical growth (come to think of it, on a very deep and locked-up level, she wished she were younger so that she'd at least have a chance with him). The majority of the male population in the village however, thought differently to it, glaring at the poor boy with cold and envious eyes; the envy was due to the fact that in addition to gaining the attention of the majority of the women in the village, he was making a killing with his wood carvings (and that's not including his commissions). The coldness on the other hand came from the fact that he contained the Kyūbi no Yoko that nearly destroyed the village long ago.

Looking at his physique, Hirumi noted that he was quite the looker already; gone was the baby-fat of five years prior, and in its place was a more streamlined and muscular appearance. He now wore a pair of leather gloves on his hands, in addition to a high-collared orange vest, a navy blue tank-top, beige cargo pants, and slung over his back was a bokken. Now he looked like a warrior of some kind ready for whatever life could throw at him; a shame that he was born a boy, because if he were given the opportunity and the chance, he could have been a kunoichi advocate that would've inherited his mothers' wealth and property without a fuss. "Are you sure I can't get you to stay?" she asked, concern in her aged features almost pleading for the boy to stay.

"I have to go sometime," reminded Naruto, trying his hardest not to cave in, "and besides, Musashi said in his book that it was best to be as well-versed in as many arts as possible. And what better way to learn as many arts as possible than to see the world?"

Hirumi felt a shiver shooting up her back upon hearing that name come out from the boy's mouth. This was due to the fact that Miyamoto Musashi, the writer of the book that Naruto-kun had recently found and read known as the "Five Rings", was quite possibly the toughest and deadliest fighter to have ever lived—hell, the man wasn't even a ninja, and yet this vagrant rōnin still managed to terrify the living daylights out of any kunoichi worth her salt long after his death by disease at the very mention of his name. The reason for his reputation as a bogeyman to the Kunoichi Nations was said to have been due to the fact that he had slain a dozen kunoichi during a civil war in what is now Kirigakure no Sato—each of them having been an elite follower of the Rikudō Sennin herself. That same story said that in a fit of rage, the Sennin herself went and challenged Musashi to a duel after the battle that took place in Nadeshiko no Sato…what happened on that duel and from that day on was a mystery to all but a few who knew the full story.

"Be that as it may, I still want you to be careful on your trip," she said, allowing a feeling of resignation to wash over her well-aged grandmotherly features, "that vest you're wearing is not made of the durable sort of silk; I'd hate for you to come back home with anything worse than scars."

A genuine smile was on Naruto's face. "Don't worry about it bāchan, I can take care of myself."

Hirumi watched as her surrogate grandson walked down the street happily towards the setting sun. It was quite the challenge for her to refrain from running up and hogtying him before dragging him back to the village. "He'll be fine Hokage-sama," said Kotoko, looking at the village leader from her post, "I know Hatsumi-san and Yūgao-san have taught him the basics."

"She's right," added Izuka, a sympathetic look in her eyes, "I've watched those two train him, so I know they have made sure that Naruto-kun knew what he was doing with that bokken he's carrying."

With a reassured sigh, Hirumi walked back into the village—most definitely not looking forward to the paperwork that awaited her.

…

{Play: "Right Behind You" by Valve Studio Orchestra from "Team Fortress 2"}

[Three years later, somewhere in Kusagakure…]

"You find him yet?" shouted a frustrated kunoichi, her two teammates assisting her in the search. She was a pretty thing, cropped black hair, onyx-colored eyes, pale skin; it was obvious that she was definitely an upper-class citizen. Her lithe and agile body was definitely not out of place on a dancer—which actually gave her a bit of an advantage in the tree-heavy terrain she was currently navigating.

"Not yet Kurotsuchi-sama," answered a burly middle-aged red-haired woman, "but these trees are not exactly conducive to our search. The boy must have received some kind of training if he were able to elude us."

"Keep looking!" shot back the black-haired beauty, "I don't care how long it takes Rō, we do not let escaped prisoners get away on our watch…especially not that boy!"

"And why just that boy?" asked a chestnut-haired kunoichi with bees hovering near her, before her voice had turned playful, "Are you sure you don't just want to keep him as your slave? I won't blame you if you do…spy or no, that was one nice piece of ass."

Kurotsuchi was definitely not amused. "This is serious Suzumebachi, we're almost at the border of Hi no Kuni!"

"Why should we be concerned about just one boy?" countered Rō, "So he's a hottie that busted himself out of jail! Big deal! I'm pretty sure you can get yourself another slave!"

The blush on Kurotsuchi's face made her intentions clear. "This isn't just a fugitive we're looking for! The Hokage herself reverse-summoned a letter to him! For all we know, he could be a spy for Konoha! Now keep looking, we've got to know what he told that old bitch before grandma tears us a new asshole—assuming she doesn't break her back first." Now that was a big reason for Rō to be chasing after the boy; she had her doubts as to the sincerity of her colleague's intentions, but it was a legitimate enough reason (although pointless in her eyes). As she left her teammate to find the boy, Kurotsuchi continued searching forest of giant plants Kusagakure was known for. Unbeknownst to her, a blond-haired boy had peeked out from behind a boulder.

Young Uzumaki Naruto had grown well in three years since he left Konoha. His features becoming more angular as his teenage years started coming in. Gone was the orange vest, and in its place was a tan cotton haori covering his bandaged and topless torso, and a pair of navy-colored hakama. In his hands however, much to his distaste, was a woodcutter's axe that he…borrowed from the owner, for self-defense in the event his pursuers had managed to corner him. He also carried a burlap sack with some fruits so that he could last longer in his flight. He'd been on the run for a few days now…he was kind of in and out of prison now that he thought about it. But for now, he had more important matters to attend to; getting back to the borders of Hi no Kuni being his prime objective. Hopefully, Kurotsuchi and her two friends would not find him here.

When he was certain that they were gone, Naruto made a run for it. The borders of Hi no Kuni were just ahead, and with any luck he'll at least run into the border patrol! With every step he took, his hopes that he would be home free rose by that amount. Before he could take that final step further to freedom, Naruto saw a swarm of bees flying around in front of him—cutting him off from escape.

{Play: "Bad Situation" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"}

"Nowhere to run gaki!" came the voice of the chestnut-haired kunoichi with the bees, "These bees are very aggressive!"

After seeing that there was no escape, Naruto turned around and got a glimpse of his pursuers. "You thought you could get away did you Naruto?" sneered Kurotsuchi, "Did you really think we were going to let a spy from Konoha get home?"

"For the last time Kurotsuchi, I'm not a spy! It was just a badly-timed mistake!"

A snort was Kurotsuchi's response. "You really aren't doing your credibility any favors when you're running straight to Konoha! If you really were innocent, then you wouldn't have broken out of prison!"

"It was accidental!" shot back Naruto, "The masonry on that wall just gave way because it was not well-made! And after what I've heard of the kind of torture Iwa does to prisoners, how could I stay?" There was truth in that…it was said that when it came to sadistic interrogators, Iwa had a large number of them. A favored method of interrogation was often involved nail and tooth-pulling, but others have found more effective ways to torture enemy spies.

"Enough!" shouted Rō, the irritation over the argument clear in her tone, "let's just bring the little bastard back with us so that we can go home and interrogate him good and proper!"

Naruto simply brandished his axe. His fear was not unfounded, because he'd never learned to use an axe in combat…and his pursuers were closing in on him at an ominous yet leisurely pace. With the swarm of bees flying around them, there was no other way out but to fight. With a blind chop, the three kunoichi scattered away from Naruto…stunned at the fact that they just saw a wave of chakra fly from the blade of the axe and cutting a swath through the bees and through several trees.

Even though he was stunned himself at what he had done, Naruto also knew that he was looking at a gift horse…one that would bite his head off upon looking in its mouth. After resolving that the bees were the lesser of the two evils, he emptied what was left of the bag onto the floor and dropped the axe before covering himself with the bag, and running through the swarm. As he pulled it off of his person, he noted that he was a few feet away from being home free—because before him was Tenchi-kyō! With the first steps taken onto the arc bridge, Naruto silently prayed to Buddha that he'd at the very least run into a border patrol…and his second prayer while he was midway across the peak of the arc was that Kurotsuchi and her friends would not have the guts to cross the bridge!

Just a few more paces, and he was safe…unfortunately, that was not to be, as Naruto felt himself getting tackled from behind. He found himself touching the soil of Hi no Kuni on his chest and on his hands while his legs were restrained and still on the hard, wooden surface of the bridge—he was almost free! When he turned to see who it was that tackled him, he was frightened; not because it was Kurotsuchi that had tackled him, but because of the 'I'm going to rape you for all the trouble you caused me' grin she had on her face. He quickly began to move his arms to at the very least crawl away, but the black-haired girl did her best to pull him back across the bridge. "Oh no, you don't!" she grunted, struggling to drag him back across the bridge, "You're coming with me back to Iwa!"

The struggle ended the second both of them saw a kunai fly out of the trees and into the ground in front of Naruto's face just as Kurotsuchi managed to get on his back about to drive her fist into the back of his head to knock him out. "Iwa no Kurotsuchi, you are trespassing on Hi no Kuni borders!" called out an ANBU that had just landed out from nowhere, "Leave now, or risk starting a war with Konoha!"

She could not believe her rotten luck! Kurotsuchi let out a furious roar, but calmed down a bit. Knowing that Naruto would not be going anywhere just yet, she pulled his head by his golden hair and moved her lips close to his ear. "This isn't over yet Naruto-kun, not by a long shot," she whispered, her voice taking on a dangerous-yet-flirty tone, "one way or another, you **will** be mine!"

As soon as she had said her piece, Kurotsuchi forced his head down and started crossing the bridge back to her colleagues. Naruto on the other hand started to get back up to dust himself off. "Thanks ladies, I…" Before he could say anything else, Naruto was on the ground and hogtied. One of the ANBU with a rabbit mask walked up to him before crouching to look him in the face. "Uzumaki Naruto, by order of the Honorable Sandaime Hokage herself, you are to come with us to see her."

"No problem, I was going to see her first thing when I got back," he struggled to say, "but you really didn't need to get kinky on me did you?"

"Sorry about that," she answered sheepishly, scratching the back of her head framed by two long ponytails, "but this was just in case you decided to run away."

"Well could you please untie me? I promise I won't escape."

He couldn't see behind Usagi's mask, but he knew that there must've been a devious grin behind it. "Only if you'll agree to being handcuffed until we get to the Hokage tower. Standard procedure, I hope you'll understand."

A sigh of resignation was his response. "Fine, so long as I can walk."

Usagi nodded to her fellow ANBU, and worked to untie Naruto before they handcuffed him. It would be a while before they reached the Hokage Tower.

…

**_A/N: Consider this an experiment, a call for beta-readers, and a challenge rolled into one. Since I don't see many Elsword/Dragon Nest/Naruto crosses in , I figured, why not place an entry in here? And if I get no reviews, then let's see what happens when it's not counted as a crossover ne? As usual regarding the first chapter of any of my stories, your reviews will determine whether this story is worth continuing or not, so do read and review would you kindly?_**

**_Also, if NightmaresAroundWinter or his pal YoukoTaichou is reading this, I hope you don't mind me using ideas from "The First Male Nin" for this story. As usual with my Naruto fics, I think he should get a harem (he really deserves one after all the shit he's been through), although it's debatable as to who gets membership aside from Hinata, Tenten, and Anko._**

**_…_**

**_Vocabulary_**

**_Netsuke—traditional Japanese garb didn't have pockets, and so things were hung on the sash. The netsuke is used to hook things on the obi in tandem with an ojime to make sure things are hooked onto the sash of the kimono good and proper. This originally had a simple utilitarian purpose before it started to become very artistic._**

**_Tenchi-kyō—the Japanese name for the Tenchi Bridge_**

**_…_**

**_Confirmed Gender-bend names:_**

**_Rock Lee - Rock Lin (Sorry NAW and YT, but Lei and Lee are the same name in Chinese, it's just that 'Lei' is the Cantonese form for 'Lee' (which is Mandarin) meaning you technically haven't changed the name at all)_**

**_Sarutobi Hiruzen - Sarutobi Hirumi_**

**_Hagane Kōtetsu - Hagane Kotoko_**

**_Kamizuki Izumo - Kamizuki Izuka_**

**_Gekkō Hayate - Gekkō Hatsumi_**

**_Roshi - Rō_**

**_…_**

**_Challenge Confirmed:_**

**_Challenge: Naruto/Dragon Nest Cross where Naruto becomes one of the classes in lieu of a shinobi._**

**_Challenge Issued: July 10, 2013_**

**_Limitations: Naruto cannot be an Archer-type character (NightmaresAroundWinter already did this). He has to be one of the other classes, and you can also add more crosses, but you must include Dragon Nest in the mix._**


	2. Before Kunoichi: Rocky Start

**_A/N: Before you read this chapter, and before I receive flak for inaccuracies, do keep this in mind: this story is based on "The First Male Nin" which in itself is an AU, and that there are times when even the greatest of us were not so strong and were very much human when we were younger. Also, I'm taking requests for beta-readers to this story, so anyone that wants to volunteer, do be free to do so. With that on mind, do read and review would you kindly?_**

…

{Play: "Four Brave Heroes" by David Orr from "Castle Crashers"}

_Long before the Age of the Kunoichi, the entire world was engulfed in sporadic wars that ravaged the land._

_Daimyō from all the nations fought to unite the world under their rule with the many samurai warriors at their disposal. In those days, the women who would become the kunoichi were few in number and were mercenaries that pledged loyalty only to those who paid them well—primarily being relegated to scouting and assassination missions._

_The creature known even then as the Jūbi was seen as a god that reveled in the constant state of war that the then-Samurai Nations found themselves in, and was entertained by the wanton death and destruction wrought upon the people by what would be known in history books as the Sengoku Jidai._

_It is from this period of turmoil that many names would rise from the fires of the war and become heroes, but only two individuals would go on to become legendary._

_One started a religious movement that would change the world. Her discovery and studies into the mystical energy known as chakra would empower the women who wielded such power a prominent place in the future, and turned her into the world's first and original "Kunoichi no Megami." After defeating and sealing the Jūbi within her, she would use its body to create the moon, and become known with love and reverence by kunoichi all over the world as the Rikudō Sennin._

_The other name that rose to prominence from this era is one that is met with admiration by what remains of the samurai. With his skill and quick learning curve, it was said that this rōnin once trained under the great samurai swordsman Yagyū Munetoshi to become the ultimate swordsman under the sky. A veteran of many battles and an undefeatable duelist, the mere utterance of his name would strike fear in the hearts of kunoichi from beyond the grave to this day; and his name was Miyamoto Musashi._

_These two names would one day clash, and their duels from that day on would be the stuff of legend. Many know that their matches have never ended with a definitive winner, but few people will know the true connection between them. Our story begins in the land now known as Nadeshiko no Sato…_

…

{Play: "Vagabond" by James Venable from "Samurai Jack"}

[Nadeshiko no Sato, centuries ago…]

The night sky was very lovely at the moment; there were few clouds in the sky, and the stars were shining brightly. The sound of crickets punctuated the air, while a burly rōnin traversed the grassy plains: the wind brushing across the surface of his dark-tanned skin, fluttering his dark gray kimono and hakama, and tousling his brick red hair; his reddish chestnut-colored eyes without a single bloodshot looking over everything through a drunken haze; the sandals on his feet crushing the grass beneath them; and in his hands, he carried a gourd of sake. The rōnin wanted to leave the camp for a bit…the celebrations for the victory in today's battle had died down, with him having had more than his fair share of sake after the drinking contests he'd been challenged to by many of the greenhorns. And besides, he couldn't sleep—so he might as well take a walk for some fresh air, thinking about the battle earlier with every inebriated step he took.

It wasn't easy, but the land was starting to stabilize again once the battle was over. He was among a number of rōnin mercenaries hired early in the latest Mizu no Kuni civil war by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to fight against his former comrade Tokugawa Ieyasu. The fortress he and the task force he was assigned to were charged with assaulting was practically impenetrable, but he was no fool and suggested that reconnaissance be done before charging in—his asshole commander, being the arrogant fool that he was, ignored his suggestion; the upstart brat thought that this was a game! No doubt he had command due to his father being a general and he himself being well-off if the spoiled brat were able to afford this many rōnin. As much as he needed that paycheck (which would of course be distributed among the other mercenaries should any of them die) he was against unnecessary deaths…and so he sent in a scouting party behind enemy lines and the back of his 'fearless commander'.

The next day, a surviving scout had revealed that while the northern, eastern, and western walls were well-guarded there was a weakness in the south end, but there were a few roadblocks; first of which was that the area at the south wall was on higher ground, which meant that the guards would have a better view of whomever would try to ascend the steps. The other trouble that he had to deal with was the fact that there was a group of twelve women who guarded that wall with strange powers…he must've been talking about kunoichi. Truth be told, the rōnin had fought and killed his fair share of these women in and out of the wars he'd participated in, and so he knew firsthand how potentially powerful they were on the battlefield.

When he revealed the intelligence to the commander, he simply laughed—called the rōnin a coward for even thinking of sending in scouts to divulge a weak point in the enemy's defenses. The glory hound decided to charge in and deal with those women himself, while stripping him of his armor, rank, and his daishō, and then relegating him to base-cleaning duties. Needless to say, that was the last he'd ever seen of the asshole; the idiot indeed went to the south end of the fortress, thinking that if those were women guarding the southern end, then he and his men should have no trouble killing them. He even boasted that they'd have prisoners of war that they could enjoy. Unfortunately for the commander, he was the first target to be cut down, apparently for opening his big, sexist mouth from what he heard…more than half of the unit was cut down in a much better way than the commander who was said to have been tortured by the women last they heard. Served the bastard right as far as he was concerned; and then the pathetic losers all broke down upon getting back, some of whom were traumatized by something.

He then went to the southern end of the fortress himself, armed with a zanbatō he'd come to the battle with, and ascended the steps. The fight was indeed a challenge; indeed these women were no stranger to combat as they were able to surround him rather quickly, and the powers he saw them use had made him act with far more caution than he normally would a normal warrior—even one that could use this energy he heard was called 'chakra'. On the other hand, he had several factors going in his favor; one of which was thanks to Yagyū-san's pointers paying off, due to the fact that he was able to output a large amount of killing intent which seemed to demoralize the women. Another was his quick learning curve which allowed him to defeat each of the kunoichi one by one. And his final advantage was in the schooling he received to make his zanbatō a weapon worthy of his ancestor, the ancient swordsman Elsword Sieghart.

The rōnin held the advantage, but knew that all twelve of them were a cut above the average kunoichi he's ever faced. This was a challenge he thoroughly enjoyed, and so out of respect to his opponents and his Buddhist schooling, he personally saw to their burial after the battle…anyone else would've desecrated their bodies. His train of thought immediately came to a stop the second he found that he'd arrived at his destination. The patch of ground was soft, and he recognized the rock he used to mark the location of their bodies. He pulled the cork out of his gourd, and poured the sake he'd gotten from earlier into the ground—most men who enjoyed drinking as much as he did would've called it a waste, but he believed that even women at the very least deserved a taste of good sake before they left this world.

Once he was satisfied with his sacrifice, the rōnin turned to leave the premises. He'd been out long enough. Before he could take another step, he could've sworn he felt a piercing glare from behind. "Miyamoto Musashi?"

That's odd…he was pretty sure the area was clear when he got here. From the moment he heard that voice, he could tell that this was in fact a woman. The man now known as Musashi let out a hiccup without turning to face her, creeping his hand to the hilt of his zanbatō sheathed across his back. "If you're one of those damn tōseinin come to bother me for money, I ain't interested."

"I've heard that you killed twelve women here in today's battle," replied the woman, the coldness of her tone clear to Musashi even in his drunken haze, "twelve kunoichi who were guarding this location in between missions."

"What of it?"

"I see. Then I suppose that's all I need."

{Play: "Sad But True" by Kota Suzuki and Wataru Hokoyama from "Resident Evil 5"}

Before he knew it, Musashi's hand made it to the hilt of the zanbatō just in time for him to swing it downward, and causing the woman to sidestep the cut only to duck under a quick slash aimed at her head when the rōnin practically summoned a second sword into his other hand. Taking the opportunity afforded her by the miss, the woman jabbed her weapon into Musashi's face, which he narrowly avoided due to his drunken stupor; even while under the effects of his inebriation he identified the weapon easily by the metallic 'clink-a-clink' sound, and the length of the shaft that he'd back-flipped away from.

Upon landing, Musashi watched as the fireflies made their dance in the sky illuminating the darkened battlefield with glowing orbs of green. He soon began to take in the details about his opponent as they buzzed about—it wasn't much, but he could make out the basic contours of the woman he was fighting; namely that the weapon in her hands was quickly identified as a shakujō with a long metallic shaft judging by how straight it was. He could not see the details of her eyes, but he could tell that the look she had for him was beyond angry…there was no mistake about it, she'd come to kill him, and judging by the level of anger he picked up from her, it was personal. Did she know the twelve kunoichi he'd killed earlier in the day?

As she quickly recovered, the woman charged in and assaulted Musashi with her shakujō using wide and graceful sweeps, and the momentum of each missed swing to lash out with a wall of quick thrusts. The feeling of déjà vu he had throughout the fight made him wonder as to the identity of this woman—come to think of it, he did fight someone earlier today that fought exactly like she was now; the difference being that the moves that he was currently dodging were used on a standard-sized rōkushakubō and the highly-refined and economical movements of her attacks (no movement wasted, and done in as few attacks as possible).

There was a flash in her eyes, and Musashi had to side-step away from a pillar of flames that threatened to engulf him. Another case of déjà vu; one of the kunoichi he'd killed earlier used the same attack on him, but that was on a lower level compared to the one he just saw now. His suspicions as to the connection this woman had to the corpses he just paid respects to had begun to get clearer and clearer. And it was also clear to him from the get-go that the two of them were evenly-matched. He needed to end it now, before things got out of hand…and the answer came to him in the form of an idea! Hopefully, the woman would not catch on to his plans and kill him before he had an opportunity to implement it…he also prayed to Buddha and any other deity listening in on him that he would not have to resort to the plan B he had on mind.

Musashi watched as the woman charged in with the intent to kill. Just when she was a few feet away, he charged back at her while letting out a loud roar suddenly to disorient nun for a brief moment. That momentary roar also gave him the morale boost to increase the speed of his swing and force his opponent to bring up her shakujō to block his shorter blade, eliciting a 'clang!' that told Musashi that this was not a metal shaft; it was a**_ solid steel_** shaft. Nonetheless, he used the momentary pause to add more strength to his blow and push the woman away from him before using his other hand to swing his zanbatō around in an attempt to bisect his opponent and her steel rod in one go. All his efforts had been in vain at that attempt, but it still scored him his first wound given how late her avoidance of that last attack was. That also left him open, as he barely had enough time to dodge the next thrust which caused a deep gash across his chest—this time however, he took advantage of the momentary distraction to toss his shorter blade into the air.

Upon landing, he watched as the woman charged in to assault him with more attacks using her shakujō, and Musashi was forced to fight her off using both hands. Each swing was blocked or dodged, but it was clear that they were wearing his opponent down—thankfully, he had the stamina required to make use of such large weapons. Her speed on the other hand had made him pay for every successful hit he managed to land with the blunt force that managed to get him in his back. It wasn't long until the sword he threw into the air landed in between them that both the samurai and the nun jumped backward to avoid getting stabbed by the blade. The second the woman landed, she noted that her kimono and hakama were slashed downward, causing her to drop her weapon in an attempt to hide her modesty. Seeing that opportunity, Musashi managed to rebound, grab the sword in mid-stride, and then scissored the blades together at her neck.

The woman managed to duck under, and land a punch into Musashi's ribs, causing the large man to recoil, drop his swords, and land upon his back. It was a good thing for her that she had broken his ribs in that area. Her target remained still on the ground—good, just the way she needed him to be! The nun used what was left of her strength to pick up the shakujō on the ground and walk over to her downed opponent. The glare she leveled downward at him spoke levels of her anger. When she was certain that he was ready to be executed, the nun lifted the shakujō up, ready to bring the butt of the staff down and into his face only to feel pain as something jabbed through her abdomen. The surprise she felt at this emotion was intensified upon seeing that Musashi had somehow materialized his sword in his hand and quickly stabbed her. It wasn't long until her exhaustion caught up to join the pain she felt that she blacked out…the shakujō falling from her hands to the side as she collapsed from the attack.

As soon as Musashi got back up, he finally regarded his opponent that he had unfairly beaten while the rays of dawn began to rise. It still wasn't a clear picture, given the amount of red he saw due to the dawn sun creeping into the area. The garb she wore was indicative that she was likely a miko, probably not too far from his age of twenty-seven, her long spiky hair ran in all directions, a necklace of six magatama was worn over her kimono. He eyeballed her height to be shorter than he was (himself being about a head-and-a-half taller than the average man), and although he infrequently enjoyed the pleasures of the flesh he could tell that the measurement of her curves were the sort that any would sell their souls for, with a bust size just midway between modest and generous in his opinion. All in all, this was a picture of beauty in human form. Ah well, what can you do?

…

{Play: "Mononoke Hime (Instrumental)" by Joe Hisaishi from "Mononoke Hime"}

[The next day…]

The nun woke up to the sounds of birds chirping and a campfire burning, the smell of something being grilled or roasted, and the warmth of day pelting her skin with the rays of the sun. Her eyes opened up reluctantly to see the blue morning sky greeting her with few clouds. As she sat up, the nun then began to recount what had happened…she was dueling that monster Musashi, and then just as she was about to execute him, he…

"So you're awake now," said a very familiar voice, bringing her attention to its owner. Much to her anger, she saw that Miyamoto Musashi was sitting in front of a fire, cooking what appeared to be skewered lizards over a campfire. The nun was about to stand up to attack when a sharp pain attacked her side.

"You and I both know that whether or not I missed your vital organs, you are still down for the count after I stabbed you in that area," he said, not taking his attention off the lizards, "so you may as well just sit down and explain to me why you've decided to take this personally."

Seeing no other way out of this, the nun focused her lavender eyes upon Musashi's back attempting to burn a hole through it. "You killed my students yesterday, and expect me to let this go you fiend?"

"This is a civil war, there are no good guys and bad guys!" shot back Musashi, turning to regard the nun, "If that's the case, then what the hell are you doing in this shit? What are you doing bringing your students in if this is how you honor their memory?"

How dare he? He just killed her students! What right did he have to speak of them? "You speak as if you understand what we're fighting for."

"Oh but I do. I may not know you personally, but from what rumors I've heard of you, I can tell that you're not really fighting for Tokugawa because you like him. I know from looking at your pattern what you're really trying to do…and I also know that what you're trying to accomplish is impossible. You think fighting for Tokugawa is going to help make the world a better place; that he's actually fighting for peace? No dice. Sure, he may keep his promise at first, but eventually he'll come to envy you for your power and order for your death. Trust me, getting involved in war for the politics is not the way to go."

The nun said nothing…she simply thought about what he said. And by all accounts, he was right. She saw the look in Ieyasu's eyes; she knew that he wanted the Elemental Nations united under his banner. The lust he had in his eyes were both for her body and for power…but for the nun, it was merely an alliance of convenience. Little did her employer know that she had plans of her own to deal with him when the time came. Then came another question that popped into her mind. "You are known to be the kind of man who duels people to the death. Why have you spared me?"

Musashi let out a loud bark of laughter. "Because I didn't beat you with strength; I very much enjoyed our fight earlier, but if I didn't cheat, I would've died. Next time we fight, I won't be pulling any stops, but I won't cheat again." At this point, he stood up and wrapped the nun's fingers around the skewered lizard, a mirthful grin on his face as he looked at her. "And next time I fight you, I want you to be at your best."

As her enemy walked away into the daylight, the nun simply glared angrily at him. With every ounce of force she put into biting through the roasted flesh of the lizard, she promised eternal hatred against Miyamoto Musashi—that one day she would kill him or he would kill her. She would not rest until the deaths of her students had been avenged.

Neither Musashi nor the vengeful nun would see the twist in that fate has in their story…

…

**_A/N: If I had to pick voice-overs for Musashi in this story, I'd choose Michael McConnohie, Ed Cunningham, or Jamieson Price for English voices, and Akio Ohtsuka or Kazuya Nakai. For fem-Rikudō Sennin, I choose Jennifer Hale, Wendee Lee, or Glynnis Talken or Tricia Helfer for the English voices, and the Japanese voices would be Saber from "Fate/Zero" or Litchi Faye Ling._**

**_…_**

**_Vocabulary_**

**_Daishō—this is the samurai's sword set; it consists of a katana and a wakizashi one being longer than the other. While the katana is normally used in battle, the wakizashi is shorter and often used in seppuku._**

**_Yagyū—a very prestigious samurai family known for founding the highly fast and aggressive Yagyū Shinkage-ryū school of swordsmanship. They would eventually teach the Tokugawa shogunate._**

**_Tōseinin—a person that has not taken up an honest living, these are typically your standard Yakuza or gamblers. Tōseinin follow a strict code of conduct, one of which being that leaving the gang you belong to requires you to cut off your pinkie finger._**

**_Shakujo—a prayer staff…this is a pretty well-known symbol of a Buddhist monk. The staff can be long or short, bit is always described as a ringed staff. The shorter ones are normally used for prayer, but the longer ones can be used as weapons, and both are used to tell people that a monk is nearby in need of alms as well as to warn small creatures so as not to accidentally step on them._**

**_Rokushakubō—it literally means 'six-shaku staff', a shaku being the equivalent of a foot; and so the shaft of this weapon is roughly six feet long. In all essence, this a quarterstaff._**

**_…_**

**_Confirmed Gender-bend names:_**


End file.
